Category Archives: products

Self Care

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A lover of natural, herbal, & holistic remedies, I stumbled upon PDX apothecary, Duck Feather Herbs, a couple of months ago, and have had my eye on their Lavender lip balm, Sleeping Beauty tea, and an array of herbal tinctures ever since. Just after the new year, they hosted a giveaway with fellow herbalists, Tumbleweed Apothecary & Monarch Apothecary, offering a dreamy assortment of health and beauty goods. With a package full of soaking salts, perfume, incense, facial products and more, how could I resist entering?! I was fortunate enough to be chosen as their winner and I couldn’t be more enamored with all of their products. Even their packaging was perfect in its rustic simplicity!

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The Love Manifest perfume from Monarch Apothecary is altogether divine – a consummate marriage of various rose petal essences, rose geranium, bergamot, and ginger lily essential oils, & topped with their own farm harvested roses, it’s a delightfully feminine and romantic bouquet. After a hot bath with their Turmeric & Calendula Soaking Salts, enhanced by the air of Lavender & Sage incense cones, roll on some love-filled perfume and be prepared for an amorous evening!

Keeping my face dewy and lips soft is super easy thanks to Tumbleweed Apothecary’s oil-based facial serum, Stunner. With thirteen different oils, including rose hips, argan, frankincense, & jojoba (“you’ll love it – it has jojoba.” s/o to my theatre “sister,” Lauren!), I apply it after cleansing my face and before adding their ‘Spellbound’ Face Cream. Topping my lips with some Lavender & Mint ‘Peck’ lip balm, my skin is supple & kissable.

I stay busy between my full-time job at a local tv station, part time job at an art gallery, helping run a volunteer-based community art gallery, traveling, & my own artistic endeavors – painting, writing, baking, acting, & photography – so I’m always looking for new ways to relax and unwind. Sleep has never come easier with a cup of Good Belly Tea combined with some Have a Good Rest Tincture, care of Duck Feather Herbs. Adding a couple of drops of this chamomile, catnip, lavender, & bergamot mint tincture to an already quieting cup of mint & lemon balm herbal tea is a foolproof way to end a satiated day.

I’ve added some Elderberry Syrup to my wish list from Duck Feather Herbs, as well as some tinted lip balm called ‘Smooch’ and the ‘Siren’ facial steam from Tumbleweed Apothecary, and a tin of Cacao, Rose, & Rooibos (decaf!) Chai & Herkimer diamond gemstone essence from Monarch Apothecary. My ever-growing Etsy cart is taunting my bank account!

While I’ve linked to each apothecary’s individual shops, they’ve all got Instagram accounts that are equally as tantalizing as their products. Take a peek for yourself at @DuckFeatherHerbs, @tumbleweed_apothecary, & @monarchapothecary!

 

 

Church Shoes

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It’s been a whirlwind of a year since my last post in March, with an abundance of change. As the dust has finally (finally!) settled, I can now get back to posting about our adventures!

Rosie and I have had to endure a great amount of sadness but received so much support through these challenging months. I look forward to sharing with you my trip to the Pacific Northwest, with stops in Portland and Olympia –  including a stay at the most perfect Airbnb, and replete with Boston Terriers! I even got to meet Lucille Marie of The Pawsh Puppy!

The Autumn air is beginning to reach that perfect cooler temperature, and I’m taking advantage of it with lots of walks, foraging for the perfect pieces of moss and mushrooms, creating soul-warming soups (butternut squash and parsnip!), and roller skating in my vintage skates for a little extra exercise, followed by soothing and meditative yoga sessions.

There are lots of surprises in store in the coming months, as well – I can’t wait to share them all with you! Until then, be on the lookout for some new vegan recipes, a tour of Portland & Olympia, and lots of beautiful wares and clothing from my favorite makers and shakers!

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(Vintage saddle shoes by Bass)

Oh, Canada!

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I’m so excited to finally be able to share more of our trip to Michigan & Canada with you! One of the ways I prepped for this trip was by collecting, if you will, shops and places to visit via the Instagram accounts of the makers and shakers of those who reside in those cities. One such creative is Megan Campagnolo, the designer behind Rosehound Apparel. Her sweatshirts, totes, & dresses make my heart race, and her Twin Peaks-inspired collection pretty much did me in this season. Through her account, I was hipped to Toronto store Victoire, one of the shops that carries her wares. Victoire also stocks such lines as Yo Sick and Falconwright, two other labels of which I can’t get enough. It was difficult to not go into straight fan-girl mode, as we walked into Victoire, but I tried to play it cool. The Birds of North America and Samantha Pleet dresses had me salivating, any of which would be perfect paired with the ‘Mild at Heart’ tote by Rosehound. Sit me down with a copy of Worn in one of those frocks and I’d be content for days!

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How great is that storefront?

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                “Black as midnight on a moonless night”

I was there with a mission, however, and that was to take home one of Megan’s new ice cream sandwich pins. I was eternally bummed that they were sold out, (but happy for her!), so I just got a Yo Sick pizza pin to add to my collection and the Rosehound Twin Peaks matches that are unavailable for mail order. Take that, customs! HOWEVER! Megan and I had been in touch via that lovely little social media outlet, Instagram, and had been trying to make plans to meet at her studio for coffee at some point. Matt and I ended up stopping by the next day where I was able to see that pink haired lady in person and purchase my coveted ice cream sandwich pin. Her studio is in Chinatown, and is pretty amazing. The snowstorm that was happening around us only added to the magic! Now, if I could only learn to be less awkward, I’d be set…

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                               Big snow in little China

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            Mastering the art of being socially awkward

One of my friends gifted me a super cute animé pouch from Korea when I got back home, and I decided to use that as a new home for my pin collection. Here, you can see my Rosehound pins and matches, the Yo Sick pizza pin, and an assortment of other goodies!

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Getting back to the topic at hand, Victoire was everything I imagined it would be. Toronto is amazing, especially when it’s 12 degrees and your hair is full of big, fat snowflakes. I keep trying to convince Matt that we need to move there asap!
Next up: my search for vegetarian poutine & visiting the dreamy Bicyclette!

Wolf’s Apothecary

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If you’re a regular reader of blogs, then you’re in no doubt familiar with Jen McCabe’s swoon-worthy site, Honey Kennedy. If you’re not, hop on over and let her take you on a tour of Portland’s best right now!

We’re planning on a PDX visit in the near future, and my list of places to see & shops to patronize keeps getting longer and longer, thanks to her blog. Luckily, I haven’t had to wait too long to try some of the fine products out of that dreamy city, thanks to the incredible “Giveaway” section on the Honey Kennedy blog! She hosts giveaways nearly daily with all sorts of makers and shakers, and the gifts are pretty epic- even if you don’t win the big prize, the person or store she’s collaborating with offers a discount, so everyone can enjoy. My most recent win nabbed me a $50 gift card for myself to Portland apothecary, Wolf’s Apothecary, as well as two more $50 gift cards to share with family & friends. Naturally, I chose my sweet mom and darling Matt! The homemade, all-natural products at Wolf’s Apothecary are just plain wonderful, and it was so hard trying to narrow down what to try first! I ended up ordering Rapunzel’s Hair Oil, the Dandelion Milk bath powder, and a tube of Lip Salve-Ation. Rapunzel’s Hair Oil is an intoxicating elixir that one uses to tame & bring luster to ones locks, and its scent alone is luxurious. I can’t help but massage a few drops into my long mane at night since the aromatics are so relaxing!

There are few things I love more than taking a long, piping hot bath, and they’re made even better with sweet smelling, skin softening products. The combination of dandelion root, lemongrass, and lemon verbena was so on point that the wafting steam lured my kitten to sit at the edge of the bath and dip in his tail- it’s even fluffier than before!

A self-professed lip balm addict & junkie, I will try any and all chapsticks. The Lip Salve-Ation has in it infused oils from apricot kernal, sweet almond, and coconut, amongst others. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I didn’t have to reapply this lip balm every fifteen minutes-a fairly normal activity for my dry lips, thanks to nearly twenty years of lip balm obsession. Another aspect I liked about this balm was that it’s pretty unisex. A lot of lip balms come across fairly feminine, both in packaging and scent, but this is one that I would feel confident giving to both my boyfriend or best female friend. Stocking stuffers, anyone?

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I’m also a sucker for good packaging, and look at how simply perfect this is! The hoarder in me will reuse these bags for storing my tea-making herbs, and the bottles give my powder room all the fancy feels!

One of the best aspects of sharing these products is promoting small businesses. Having worked for and currently employed by a small business, as well as being an artist, I know first hand the labor and love that goes into creating something you hope will be enjoyed by others. Black Friday is coming up, but it’s important to remember the people who stay up all day and night to bring you a little something special you just can’t buy at big box stores, on Small Business Saturday.

Happy Shopping!

fall feels

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It’s finally, FINALLY starting to feel like Fall! I had full intention of attending a French film fest that a dear friend was putting on for his cinema series at the local university, and where my sweet boyfriend was set to DJ in between films, but I’m afraid that the warmth of the bed and furry snuggles were just too enticing! Instead, I took advantage of spending the day in between the sheets, enjoying a much needed rest.

Though my part of the world stays pretty humid, therefore leaving my skin hydrated and moist, I’m still not taking any chances when the cooler, drier weather hits. I’m always eager to try new facial products, and over the past few months, I’ve found some really great ones that I’ve adopted into my daily routine. Even though my skin type falls into the “normal” range, changing cleansers always gets me a little nervous. After running out of my favorite Kiehl’s facial wash, and being too lazy to order more, I opted to try something I could get locally. I’ve fallen hard for Dr. Bronner’s Almond soap! I use it twice a day in the bar form, and it is so incredibly gentle. So simple, and easy to find at Target, as well as health food markets, such as Whole Foods.

I was hipped to Herbivore Botanicals Pink Clay soap, a wonderfully vegan bar via Rail and Anchor while visiting my boyfriend’s family in Michigan. Another gentle formula, the scent is so refreshing, and I tend to alternate between it and the Dr. Bronner’s.

A couple of times a week, I use Fig and Yarrow ‘s facial scrub, which I bought after winning a Mother’s Day prize from Nora Modern ‘s Instagram account, that included another one of their products. It leaves my face feeling silky smooth and refreshed, especially after an intense hot yoga session.

Hands down, THE BEST toner in the world comes by the way of Shop Summerland, where proprietor and all around sweetest lady (with the most adorable baby ever!) stocks Robert’s & Co.’s Rosewater. Splashing it on my face each morning with its clean, cool, and rosy formula makes me feel like a classy gal from a foreign film.

Locking it all in, I use Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Lotion, my trusty old faithful. It was a little too oily for me when I bought it, but after shelling out the money for it, I felt like I needed to give it a try. Fortunately, my skin adapted, though I’ll be getting the oil-free version next time.

Smoothing on some Rose & Vanilla lip balm from Fig and Yarrow, by the way of Shop Summerland, keeps my lips from chapping as the winds start blowing just a little bit harder. To know me is to know I’m completely addicted to chapstick. When I find one as pretty as this little tin, and hand crafted, as well, I’m definitely hooked!

Facial routine

Fig Yarrow face care
$45 – urbanoutfitters.com

Dr Bronner s body cleanser
$6.67 – asos.com

What keeps you looking and feeling soft in the cooler months?

xx,

emily

(Though there are links from polyvore, I recommend ordering these products from the links I’ve supplied. Support small businesses!)